“The final stage?”
“Yeah, she has talent. Not only is she excellent at concealing her presence and mana, but she’s also gifted in mana. In this aspect, she might be better than me.”
When our gazes turned to Rezé, she flinched and took a step back.
It seemed she was taking damage just from our gazes.
‘I can’t believe a kid like that has more talent than Lucia…’
Even if it’s limited to the mana aspect, in this game, Lucia boasts game-breaking specs.
Such a being is praising Rezé? It was clear she possessed some outstanding talent.
“Of course, I don’t mean she’s better than me now. She still lacks time, experience, and mana capacity. But if she trains, over time, she could become as strong as me.”
“Ooh! I see. As expected, my friend is amazing? Well, I knew from the start!”
Rezé is the one being praised, so why is Luna happier?
I couldn’t feel even a bit of jealousy.
Well, it’s a natural reaction for Luna, who cherishes her friends.
“A-Actually… I-I have something to t-tell you.”
That’s when. Rezé opened her mouth as if she had made up her mind.
“Hm? What is it?”
“P-Please cancel it. S-Someone like me being L-Lucia’s disciple… It’s i-impossible.”
Rezé’s shocking statement that suddenly burst out.
Luna, who was next to her, yelled.
“Rezé! I told you yesterday! It can be burdensome. But it’s a problem that will be solved when you become strong! You can do it!”
I see. Luna’s exceptional joy just now was the joy of Rezé being acknowledged by Lucia, and at the same time.
‘It was also a fuss to change Rezé’s mind.’
It’s not that I don’t understand why Rezé is acting like this. But this is troublesome.
Because it’s like kicking away the opportunity for growth that we finally obtained.
“Didn’t the teacher just say? You’re sufficiently qualified?”
“E-Even so, I can’t.”
“Why?”
“B-Because I’ll be a b-burden.”
“What?”
“I-If someone like m-me becomes a disciple, s-strange rumors will spread.”
Even when she rose as a hero on the battlefield, even when she became one of the Ten Swords of the Empire, and even after reaching the position of the empire’s hero.
Lucia had never taken a disciple.
It means that until now, we are the first and last disciples.
‘If this fact becomes known, many people will be curious.’
What kind of kids are the disciples accepted by that Lucia?
Are they prodigies, geniuses, or talented individuals like her?
Many people will set out to find Lucia’s disciples.
‘There will be an intention to spectate, but the desire to verify will be greater.’
In that process, it’s natural for rumors to become distorted.
But what Rezé is worrying about now is not that part.
“Th-They’ll be disappointed. W-Wondering why she took a s-strange child as a disciple.”
Timid personality, frail appearance, using a bizarre weapon called a magic gun, etc.
Most of the people who come looking for Lucia’s disciples will be disappointed in Rezé.
‘And that disappointment will lead to pointing fingers at Lucia.’
Saying it would have been better to take her own descendant or close relative as a disciple.
The sharp gazes that start from the inept disciple will reach Lucia and begin to depreciate her.
Eventually, it may eat away at the reputation and power Lucia has built up until now.
Rezé was concerned about that point.
“Y-You don’t n-need to force yourself to p-praise me for my sake. I-It’s not true, r-right? S-Someone like me being b-better than Lucia…”
“……”
“I-I’m sorry. B-But even being able to be your d-disciple for a moment was an h-honor.”
Rezé started shedding tears.
As if the time until now was truly happy.
Lucia, who was watching her, opened her mouth.
“Hmm~ So are you saying I’m lying now?”
“Huh? N-No, that’s not what I…”
“You don’t think I accepted you as a disciple because of those two, right?”
“Huh? I-Isn’t that so?”
“Sigh… Don’t misunderstand. Since you’re my first disciples, I thought about it thoroughly before deciding.”
Lucia, letting out a deep sigh, continued.
“You’re a child overflowing with talent to the point it’s visible. That’s why I accepted you as a disciple.”
“M-Me?”
“Yeah. I quickly snatched you up before others noticed. I didn’t want to hand you over to anyone else. All three of you.”
“S-Still… I’m weak. I-It will be hard for you, L-Lucia.”
“Ha! Criticism and insults from people who don’t know us? I don’t care about that stuff. There’s no decent person among those who do that anyway…”
Perhaps feeling awkward, Lucia scratched her head and continued.
“I only care about people like you… who are by my side.”
“…!”
“So feel free to call me teacher. Don’t cry. Stop!”
“T-Teacher…”
“As expected, our teacher is the best!”
Luna and Rezé hugged Lucia.
Nanny, who was warmly watching the scene, took out a handkerchief and wiped Rezé’s tears and snot.
It’s a moving sight. Except for the fact that Lucia is pushing my face away with her hand.
I’m also a disciple, so why is she only hugging them? It’s a mystery.
“I had no intention of revealing your existence in the first place. I don’t want to see my disciples being crushed by false rumors and losing their spirit.”
Those with many allies also have many enemies.
Lucia seemed to know that fact well too.
“Well, I’ll inform my close aides though.”
“Keke, is there a need to say it?”
“That’s how an alliance works. Try keeping this a secret and getting caught later. Dissatisfaction will immediately erupt from within.”
As Lucia said. The most important thing in an alliance, even more than anything else, is ‘trust’.
If disciples are hidden, cracks may form in that trust.
‘Disciples are important, but an alliance is more important. That must be Lucia’s thought.’
Well, it was only natural. We’ve only spent a month together.
I can’t blame Lucia for valuing the alliance more than us.
“Okay, then shall we start the final training?”
“Yes, yes! P-Please take care of me. Teacher!”
The final training that began with Rezé’s spirited cry.
Contrary to the spirited cry, the training was extremely quiet.
Rezé, who took a comfortable posture inside the box and closed her eyes. Lucia whispered behind her.
About 10 minutes passed since then.
[Party member Rezé has obtained a blessing.]
[A special reward is given.]
[Party member Rezé’s skill has bloomed.]
I immediately used the information window to check Rezé’s status.
[Mana Tracking S], and [Mana Accumulation C].
She gained two skills. Moreover, one of them is S-grade.
Both were skills I knew well.
‘Mana Tracking is a technique that allows you to know the location of a selected target. And Mana Accumulation is…’
Increasing mana capacity, increasing mana recovery speed, and even the effect of increasing the efficiency of mana-based skills.
It’s a crazy skill that shows a whopping +15% efficiency even at C-grade.
“Wh-What is this feeling? The surrounding mana is moving more actively than usual!”
“I told you earlier, didn’t I? You have talent.”
Lucia, who was ruffling Rezé’s hair, continued her explanation.
“Go to Zero and try to feel his mana.”
“Huh? B-But…”
“Every living being has mana. That guy has it too. He just hasn’t realized it yet.”
Rezé, who was circling around me, moved as Lucia instructed.
Rezé, who moved to the end of the training ground, shouted while running back.
“I-I can feel it! I can know the location even from far away… Th-This is really an amazing skill!”
She’s talking about [Mana Tracking].
A skill that can remember the scent(?) of mana for up to three people and know the location of the other party no matter how far apart they are.
That’s right. To summarize that skill, it’s a kind of radar and…
“It’s a skill that aids in stalking.”
“N-No, it’s not!”
No, that skill is definitely for stalkers.
When used in the game, it informs you of the current location of the other party and the approximate distance. When used on characters in the game.
There were users who checked the characters’ locations by time period and speculated unrevealed stories.
So it wasn’t an exaggeration to call it a stalker’s exclusive skill.
And Lucia, who possesses such a skill, is…
“Wh-What’s with that look! I also learned it by chance?”
“…For now, let’s go with that.”
“Ah, really, it’s not true! I’m not periodically using it on Delin or anything!”
Confessing a crime with her own mouth. It was an action befitting the ditzy Lucia.
Ignoring Lucia, who was roughly messing up my hair, I fell into thought.
‘Come to think of it… It’s similar to the direction the users were researching.’
[Mana Accumulation], which aids in the accumulation of mana, and [Mana Tracking], which can locate the other party’s location even outside the field of vision.
They were skills that could make the build called ‘Spear Rezé’ shine even more.
‘Magic gun, the build researched by users, Lucia’s disciple, and the knowledge I have combined…’
Perhaps Rezé might become a game-breaking character.
‘Cannot kill living beings, retreats from the battlefield when targeted.’
If we exclude those two chronic problems, that is.
I checked the information window, but there was no change in the characteristics section.
It means becoming someone’s disciple is not a condition for changing characteristics.
‘As we go to the later stages, the number of enemies using wide-area attacks increases. No matter how strong a single shot is, it’s meaningless if you can’t shoot.’
A character that can’t be used in the later stages is useless no matter how strong they become.
However.
‘Overcoming this is also the skill of a veteran.’
I’ve done things I thought were impossible several times since entering the game.
I was planning to somehow make it work this time too.
That damn rabbit.
To evolve her into a killing machine rabbit!
“Kekeke!”
“…You’re laughing when I hit you. Are you really a pervert?”
Lucia slowly moved away.
It seems a small misunderstanding occurred while I was thinking.
Luna approached my side and whispered.
“Hey, didn’t you say you prepared a gift? Where is it?”
“A gift?”
“I mean the farewell gift for the teacher.”
Come to think of it, I said that earlier. That I prepared a gift, so don’t worry.
It’s a difficult situation. Because.
I was going to say ‘Keke, the gift is me.’
That’s right. The gift I said I prepared.
It was ‘me’.
‘I was going to take revenge on her for ignoring that I was taken by Caron and only feeding those two dinner, but…’
Now that I see Lucia doing her best for us, I felt a bit embarrassed.
If I throw such a nonsensical joke in this situation, I might end up being bitten all over by Luna and meet my death.
“Umm, about that…”
“Why are you dragging it out! Just give it! I don’t mind even if it’s cheap!”
Before I could make an excuse, Luna grabbed my hand and ran.
And so I reached in front of Lucia.
“Teacher! We prepared a gift for you!”
“A gift? Nah, there’s no need for that. If anything, I should be the one giving it.”
Even so, she’s subtly showing signs of anticipation.
…Could it be that she’s looking forward to the first gift from her disciples?
If so, it’s the worst situation.
‘Sh-She’ll overlook this much, right?’
Lucia is a teacher and an adult.
There’s no way out of this situation anyway. I shouted in the most cheerful voice possible.
“Keke, the gift is… me!”
Whoosh-.
Silence fell upon the training ground.
Hmm, what is this? This bland feeling.
Luna didn’t even think about biting me. She was just stiffly frozen from the huge shock.
“…Thanks for the gift. It’s mine now, so I can do whatever I want with it, right?”
Lucia firmly grabbed my face with both hands.
Fortunately, it seems she likes the gift.
‘As expected, a handsome face is useful in many ways.’
But that thought was short-lived.
Lucia started putting strength into her hands, and only then did I realize her intention.
She was trying to crush my face.
“I’m so happy to receive the first gift from my disciple that I must take it with me. I’ll compress it well and put it in my pocket.”
“Aaargh!!”
With my scream echoing in the training ground, Rezé safely finished her evolution.
From a pufferfish rabbit.
To a ‘pufferfish rabbit with a radar-equipped stalker’.
–TL Notes–
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